The Crawling Darkness
by thefemaletriad
Summary: After having mysteriously been asleep for an hour, the warriors of Cosmos wake up in the many worlds of Dissidia with no recollection of what happened before that moment. Everything is apparently normal, except for their own selves…
1. Title and Summary

**The Crawling Darkness**

After having mysteriously been asleep for na hour, the warriors of Cosmos wake up in the many worlds of Dissidia with no recolection of what happened before that moment. Everything is apparently normal, except for their own selves…


	2. Lost

Cloud and Terra searched the name once more on the map. The full moon rose behind them, illuminating their figures.

'This is where it should appear. But there's just a black mark over it.' said Cloud.

'I wonder who burned it…'

Suddenly, Terra thought she saw a dark creature go past the pillar ahead. It had gone so quickly out of sight that she couldn't distinguish what it was.

Shivering, she turned to Cloud.

'Let's get out of here.'


	3. Thief and Liar

'I didn't nick it!'

'Then who did?'

'I don't-how am I supposed to know?'

'Because you did it! Who else?'

Bartz and Zidane were having a pretty bad argument. Unbeknownst to them, Squall watched the pair.

They were about to engage in physical combat when the lonesome lion intervened.

"Whoa! Stop!"

He held both hands at each other's chests and they forgot their anger for a moment seeing Squall there. Zidane proceeded to greet him.

Bartz, however, never tore his eyes from Zidane.

'Hey, Squall, how's it going?'

'I'm fine. Why were you shouting at each other?'

Bartz then looked at Squall while pointing at the smaller man.

'This dwarf stole my feather!'

'OY!'

Being called a dwarf had upset Zidane. Squall held back a sarcastic laughter.

'I didn't steal anything, you feminine-looking weirdo!'

Apparently this was enough offence, for Bartz was about to assault his best friend. Squall intervened once again between them and tried to make them see reason.

'You two are best friends. Why are you insulting each other like that?'

The two tore their eyes away from each other and looked at Squall, who remained serious. Their expressions lifted for a moment and now they looked as they had realized what they had been doing. Their eyes were glittering and innocent-looking once more.

Breathing relieved that the two understood each other again, Squall passed his hand over his hair looking toward a spot on his right. He looked perplexedly at a dark figure that had moved behind one of the pillars and disappeared.


	4. The Troubled Warrior

The Warrior of Light walked by the silent and calm passage ahead…or at least that's how it looked like.

Sword in hand, he sliced at thin air every now and then. He also sweated rather a lot and had dark shadows beneath his eyes. He moved more cautiously than he usually did.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Firion approaching. He looked quite alright.

'You are one of Cosmos' warriors, correct?' Firion asked him.

'That's right. I am the Warrior of Light.' He answered, and his voice sounded slightly worried and constricted, instead of the clear, confident tone he always used.

'I am Firion. For some time, I have explored these planes, but have not found Cosmos so far. Where do you believe she could be?'

The warrior remembered the last moments of the goddess and proceeded to tell Firion about them. He listened attentively and then proposed they searched for any clues as to where their crystals might be.

As soon as they started to walk, the warrior halted abruptly, his eyes with a transfixed expression. Firion's own ones went out of focus for a split second and his expression became less naïve and subtly more cruel, beastlike.

He noticed his companion was behind him and he turned around.

'Well? Aren't you coming?'

His tone wasn't rude, but it denoted an imposition, something which Firion never had in his voice. He was also impatient, another unusual behaviour.

'Sorry, but I'd rather travel alone.' The warrior answered.

'What?'

Firion's tone implied irritation. The warrior sensed he would attempt to provoke a fight between them.

There was only one way out of this.

'I'm feeling too tired to carry on. You shouldn't bother to wait for me and go ahead. I'll eventually catch up.'

He wore a humble smile and sat down on the floor, denoting fatigue. This worked at convincing Firion, for he said good-bye and proceeded on his way.

The warrior watched as he distanced himself further and further, an unmistakably dark shadow covering Firion head to foot, contaminating his once clear, gold aura. And the look on his eyes…

Pale yellow eyes with an inhuman expression were what gazed at him minutes ago.


	5. Chaos' Warning Part 1

Chaos was sitting on his throne, looking absent. He had talked to garland not too long ago about how he had sent his own self to the past. Just after that, Shantotto had appeared and given him a cryptic message, but one he understood quite well:

"_Oh, fear not discord_

_Foolish warriors of harmony_

_For it hides far from eyes_

_A worst enemy"_

She then showed him a small vial with a dark blood inside and handed it to him. He immediately recognized to what creature it belonged. It troubled him greatly.

He summoned the Emperor. David Bowie came without delay.

Chaos then gazed him deeply.

'I know you've been plotting against me for a while.'

Emperor Mateus arched an eyebrow.

'You do? And what do you think it is I am planning to do?'

Without removing his gaze from the arrogant man, he replied slowly.

'If you want to become unbound to the cycle of rebirth, you must know I am not the only one you have to vanquish…'

The Emperor was amused by these words.

'Indeed? And what other God should I consider?'

'I am not talking about Shinryu.' Chaos replied with a dry tone.

For the first time, the Emperor was taken aback. He made an effort not to appear disturbed, as it was typical from nobility.

Chaos then held the vial on his hand, gazing at its content. He turned to look at the Emperor once more.

'You are merely a mortal and a human. And I don't care how much you think of yourself, you are weak. Compared to other ancient creatures, you don't scrap the surface of what it is to be really fit to survive.'

Chaos had never talked to a human before with such detachment. It was as though he was talking of some truth one ought to know, but was entirely unaware and unprepared to face it. This was quite frightening.

A shiver went through Emperor Mateus' back, but he did his best not to show it.


	6. Chaos' Warning Part 2

'Is that so?' The Emperor said, and he cursed himself for not hiding the fear in his voice.

'Yes.' He said lazily. 'For instance, there is this creature who can see perfectly in the dark, but can be very difficult to detect by human eyesight. Legends tell of men implanting a third eye on their foreheads in order to be able to see them, but dying in the attempt. They can also supposedly enter one's body and control it for a short while. This is called possession, I believe.'

Chaos then turned his head upward, in a gesture that indicated he was trying to hear something and spoke to the Emperor once more:

'One of Cosmos' pawns seems to be having trouble with them. Her closest one, I assume.'

'Closest?' asked the Emperor, wondering who he was talking about.

'The nameless warrior.'

'Ah.'

Chaos then rose from his seat.

'If you want to vanquish death and become immortal, you must know that even eternal life doesn't offer impenetrable protection from older and stronger creatures.'

He walked toward the man, who stood silently looking at him. Chaos then held up the vial.

'For your luck, there are ways to detect when one of these creatures is nearby. One of them, the most reliable so far, is to drink a drop of this.'

The Emperor looked with disgust to the thick deep red liquid.

'What is that?'

'You'll know once you've drunk it.'

Chaos removed the cork and poured a bit of it on the Emperor's palm. He then let it slip to his mouth and almost vomited when he felt its taste. He breathed deeply, recomposing himself and shook his head.

All of a sudden he felt his head spin and he began to shiver a bit. Then he saw black spots as his eyesight appeared to fail and he felt a sudden pressure drop. He stood on all fours, waiting for the sensation to go away.

'Don't worry. You'll be fine in a moment.' Said Chaos, as he slowly returned to his throne.

It took him five whole minutes to recover and he stood up again, grabbing his weapon. Without explanation, his sense of smell, hearing capability and eyesight were slightly different. For one, the air smelled of many scents; he noticed the dark patches along the landscape were not so dark anymore and he could swear he heard someone's voice from afar.

'What is this? What did you do to me?'

'You drank one of these creature's blood. Now you can see and hear as well as them. If one of them is lurking in the darkness or tries to approach you and tries to possess your body, you will know.'

The Emperor didn't thank Chaos as he turned to leave, but there was no need for it.


	7. The Dark Esper part 1

Terra couldn't stop shivering, but it wasn't from the chilly breeze of the night. Something made her skin crawl and her hair stand on end. The nameless fear filled her with frustration, for she was not able to hold control over herself.

She knew from experience it was not the same lack of control which turned her into a mindless machine of war, also known as Esper. No, that kind of feeling was different. She knew its symptoms well after having lost control many times in her life. And this had definitely nothing to do with it.

She and Cloud continued to walk side by side in the pale moonlight, heading for the coordinates inscribed on the bottom of the parchment, where a map of the world was drawn. The place had a name, and they both knew it…or at least that's what they believed. They felt a certain familiarity gazing at that black blotch, as though they knew what it was, but couldn't remember.

Cloud stopped walking to look at Terra.

'Are you going through that transformation again?'

Her eyes barely hid her feeling of terror.

'N-no! No, Cloud, this is…different. Can we talk while we walk, please?' she asked, looking sideways half-terrified.

He could only wonder what was going on. They resumed walking and Cloud started a conversation to break the ice.

'This place is strangely empty, isn't it? I wonder where all the others are…'

'Yeah…' she said in a concerned tone.

'I wonder what Cosmos will say to us once we have found our crystals.'

'Me, too…' Terra kept shooting scared glances at the dark patches made by the pillars' shadows.

'Probably will instruct us on how to avoid Chaos from gaining more power. I expect there'll be some sort of fight…what do you think?'

The moment Cloud turned his head, Terra had been turned into her Esper form and placed her right hand over his eyes. He tried to remove her hand but she cried 'NO! DON'T LOOK!!!'


	8. The Dark Esper part 2

He then felt her create an energy field around them and shoot balls of energy with her free hand. Then he heard her invoke Tornado and he felt his body floating slightly with the sheer force of the wind. And then something happened which made him shiver from head to foot.

He heard a piercing, unearthly cry of something that was- it could only be, there was no way it wasn't – inhuman. Not only it didn't sound like any animal he had ever known, it sounded like no known creature to him. And its cry inexplicably caused an intense, uncontrollable feeling of fear in him…

Beside him, Terra fought the creature…

'DARKNESS OF GRAVITY!'

The black creature with blood red lines and patterns let out a sharp cry as the black ball hit it from above. Its malevolent pale yellow eyes turned to fix Terra's fragile pink form and it quickly slithered toward her, like a fast cockroach, its forked tail swinging behind it in a repulsive manner.

It launched itself in the air, opening its large mouth. He was so close Terra could see it had at least double the number of teeth a human had. All of them were sharp and had a silvery color. She could not see where its tongue was.

'DON'T!'

She hit it right in the face with a ball of ice produced from her hand and it let another unearthly yelp. Then it moved its gaze from her to Cloud and vanished on thin air.

…

Cloud was now the one shivering.

'What happened? Terra, what attacked us? Why didn't you let me fight it with you?'

'I-I don't know, my body reacted instinctively.'

'How so?'

' I guess my Esper side sensed a strong threat and took over my human mind. Without warning, I morphed.'

This was alright, but this still didn't answer one thing…

'Hum, I see. But why did you cover my eyes?'

'I also don't know. My hand moved on its own accord.'

He didn't know why, but this didn't strike as something good to Cloud. He knew Terra's Esper side was a terrifying force, one that symbolized incredible strength. What on earth would make it recognize something as a threat? Only a force that had a power as strong as its own…

Or a much stronger one.

'Cloud, I think it could have been a dark Esper.'

'A dark Esper? What is that?'

'Well, a dark Esper is a being whose human side has been totally taken over. The living thing becomes merely a killing machine. It no longer discerns what prey is and what isn't.'

Prey? The use of the word bothered Cloud greatly. Since when can a human be defined as prey?

'Yes, erm…let's get going. Should we meet the others, we must warn them about the dark Espers…'

'Sure!'

Terra resumed her human form and the magic shield around them dropped. Unknown to her, a dark creature emerged from behind a pillar and, becoming a mere shadow on the ground, silently approached Cloud from behind.

In a split second, his eyes took on a subtle pale yellow colour.


	9. Side Effects and Strategy

Emperor Mateus still suffered the effects of the contents in Chaos' vial.

"What on earth did that blood belong to?"

Every once in a while, he had to fight back a feeling of nausea. Once or twice he actually stopped walking and, lowering himself, retched on the sidewalk. There were a few sweat drops on his brow and he had a slight headache. However, he knew he wasn't sick. No, this was just his body protesting against the alien substance in him.

He was just wiping his mouth in disgust when a sudden phenomenon caught his entire attention. For what he estimated to be only seconds, a light of incredible radiance shone not too many miles ahead and then abruptly went out. Along with it, he heard a cry which, for no explainable motive, caused a violent shiver to run through his body.

His heart began beating fast and his breath was accelerated. This was fear. That's what the – how to name that THING, that unearthly cry? What could have possibly emitted that awful shriek?- creature's sound had provoked in him.

And then he heard a human yell. The same yell he had heard when talking to Chaos.

And from the sound of it, he could tell that, whoever it was, it was in some ghastly situation. Possibly a life or death fight?

He decided to pick up the pace.


	10. Divine Intervention

_Just a few moments ago…_

'Curses! I have no choice…'

The Warrior of Light summoned all the power of light he still had within his slender body and, placing his shield in front of him, emitted a light that surpassed in radiance any he had ever produced before. He had stretched his limits and yelled, draining all his energy.

The shadows recoiled, but only to return when he fell to the ground. He was cornered.

There was no further use in cutting them with his sword. The moment he finally let his guard down, he knew they would consume him.

And that moment was drawing close…he would be consumed any time now. And then, the unthinkable would happen.

Once more, in his hour of despair, he called to the only guardian deity he knew:

'Cosmos…'

By the sound of his feeble call, the radiant figure of the goddess appeared right in front of him.

The force of her light was so strong it knocked all the shadows several feet away. The only drawback to her appearance was their cries, which sounded to the warrior as the voices heard in the depths of hell.

He gazed at his savior in adoration. He called her name feebly once again. For some reason, the sensation of fatigue and stress had abandoned him. He felt his usual self again.

'Oh, brave warrior…'

Her voice came from a distant place.

'You, of all my emissaries, is the only one able to see the creatures who dwell in the other realm…'


	11. Cosmos' Report

'Other realm? Cosmos, what-?'

'There are other planes of existence, as you know. In one of them dwells living beings unknown to humans. Unfortunately, the barrier between worlds has shattered.'

'Shattered-'

As she spoke, the darkness seemed to increase. He felt uncomfortable. It was as though someone was listening to their conversation out of sight.

'Not over an hour ago, an inexplicable event took place; I was pulled to the edge of this dimension, to where some forms of existence are banned. Sapped of my powers, it took me over an hour to find my way back here.'

The warrior lowered his head, mentally reconstructing what she had described. He couldn't understand how such a thing came to be to an entity as powerful and omnipresent as Cosmos.

'Cosmos, what- what could have done this to you?'

She cast a side glance at the shadow on their right. Her face showed concern. My, he was sure there was someone there. Or was it his imagination? He tried to convince himself this was just paranoia.

'Warrior, I must beg your forgiveness. My life force is too weak at the moment. If I had the means to be by your side during this journey, I would…however, there is a way for me to be with you. Let me give you this advice…'

The warrior had just realized her light was the only thing driving the shadows away. The moment she left, they would return, and with it, all the bad sensations. This didn't make him feel any better.


	12. A Ray of Hope

'Soon enough, you will be attacked by one of these beings from the other realm. As you must have already noticed, they can only manifest themselves in the dark. By moonlight or sunlight, they can't be seen. Not by human eyes, anyway.'

'Are you talking about the shadows that have been preying on me all this time?'

'Yes. See, they are not mere shadows. This is just how your eyes depict them. You have inside yourself the power of the light – MY light. It gives you this unusual quality: the power to see creatures in lower planes of existence.'

'So what is their true form?'

Looking briefly toward a spot behind the warrior, Cosmos closed her eyes for a brief moment and then answered:

'You must find either Terra or Chaos' emissary, Shantotto. The Esperkin has just confronted one of them, though she didn't know what she was doing. But Shantotto knows these creatures of old; she fought them in the distant past.'

This was surprising news to him. If there was a way to convince Shantotto to tell him all about this foe, then he had to find her soon enough!

Cosmos began to fade away. The warrior panicked as he saw her form dissolve in thin air. Before she had completely disappeared, she recited the following lines:

"_Oh, fear not_

_Brave defenders of harmony_

_For a light stronger than mine_

_Shall defeat this enemy."_

The warrior had an overwhelming feeling of doom.

'Wait! Cosmos!'

As soon as her light disappeared, the shadows began to gather around him. He cried in despair.

'COSMOS!'


	13. Unexpected Help

One of them advanced viciously, a black filament slithering in a sickening motion toward him, but he blocked its attack with his sword. Just then, he felt a heavy weight being pressed against his back. Not even turning to look at what it was, he moved his shield in a violent motion. The thing let out a brief shriek and fell on its back.

Once or twice, he could swear he saw a pair of hungry yellow eyes amidst the shadows…

'WHAT ARE YOU ANYWAY?'

He prepared to block two of them who were approaching him dangerously, when a small red star-looking sphere landed in front of them. Curiously approaching to see what it was, the shadows touched it. It was the last thing they ever did. Surprisingly, the star was a small bomb. The shadows were torn asunder, bits and pieces of their destroyed bodies flying all over the place.

The warrior heard another blast behind him. Turning to look, he was astounded to contemplate a huge circular figure light blue in colour and full of symbols. The shadows slithered away from it as one of them received several shocks after having touched it.

Right behind the luminous circle he contemplated something that moved systematically. A rod. A huge rod. And holding it was a man. He hardly ever moved.

It was Emperor Mateus.

'RUN AMOK!'

Another huge ball of flare drifted toward a group of shadows who tried to approach him from behind. They were carbonized on the spot.

The shadows all began crawling backwards and hid once more in the darkness. They admitted defeat. But the crawl in his skin told he warrior they were still lurking there, just waiting for when they dropped their guard.

The appearance of the Emperor was very convenient; had he not been there, the warrior would have probably been consumed by these beings. He wondered…

Calculating the odds of one of his enemies ever talking to him, he dared try to approach the regal man.


	14. After the Battle

Lazily approaching Emperor Mateus, the Warrior of Light presented him with a question.

'Is it true you can also see these shadows?'

The Emperor arched an arrogant brow.

'I am not like your goddess said: a mere human. I can see them for what they are.'

The warrior was taken aback.

'You heard our dialog?'

The Emperor answered in the same arrogant tone.

'Of course I did. You happened to be in my way.'

As much as this sounded insulting, it didn't bother the warrior in the slightest. He was only interested in knowing more about these new, mysterious foes. Therefore, he proceeded to the next question.

'Since you can see them, what is their form? What do they look like?'

The Emperor's eyes became less arrogant and he lowered his rod, relaxing his arm. He tore his gaze away from the man ahead and raised his head, summoning the image of one of the creatures in his mind. Then he adopted an explanatory tone as he began to answer.

'They have the deformed body of an alligator, I suppose, only black in colour. They have no fur. There are plenty of red patterns along their bodies, and they have a very long, forked tail. They have a huge mouth with very sharp, silvery teeth. I believe an entire head would fit in there. Quite frightening, really. Their eyes are pale yellow and wide, and they look like the eyes of beasts. No emotion in them, only primitive impulses. I also saw they have ten claws in each paw. If you can call that a paw; it looks like some sort of malformed hand to me…'

'Hum.'

The warrior and the emperor fell silent, each to its thoughts. This was not an awkward situation, though; the conditions of their being there had changed. They were no longer worried with who would win, Chaos or Cosmos. Right now, what mattered is that they found a way to get rid of these creatures.

The warrior then did the only thing that would be natural in such circumstances…


	15. Truce or Death

Having witnessed the Emperor's abilities in battle and how difficult it had been for the creatures to subjugate both of them, he did the only normal thing expected in these circumstances…

He decided to consider the Emperor a likely ally.

'I am on my way to see Shantotto. What about you?'

The Emperor adopted his arrogant demeanor once more.

'You are going? Really? All by yourself?'

The warrior understood what he meant. Not long ago, the Emperor had witnessed how hard it had been for him to fight a group of these creatures. To proceed any further was an impossible task.

'And what about you? Can you fight them all on your own and still move about?'

The Emperor stopped smiling and gazed him evidently bothered. He was right. If he were to have to create such an intense barrage every time he lowered his guard, then all he would do from now on would be to fight. This got in the way of his plan for immortality.

As unlikely as it seemed, both men had come to realize they'd have to join forces if they were to survive in this world.

'I don't like having to join forces, but…there seems to be no better choice.'

The Emperor slightly approached the warrior, regal as always.

'We must watch each other's back until we meet Shantotto. You must be prepared for the barrage of attacks we will suffer until we get there.'

The Emperor answered in a proud voice.

'I will not let any of these crawling bastards dare touch me.'

The warrior nodded and started walking north.

'Just a moment.'

He halted and turned to the Emperor. He held his head as though trying to hear something from afar, and then he looked straight at a certain direction, where there was a long line of mountains.

'There. She must be on that direction.'

The warrior was puzzled.

'How can you tell?'

Looking at him in a proud manner and cool detachment, he answered:

'I told you I am not some common person.'

Together, they descended the hill and began their journey toward the faraway mountains.


	16. Please Read

First, I would like to show my appreciation to the great number of readers following the story as it goes. You motivate me to write each time better.

As you know, the story is in progress. Each day, whenever possible, I produce circa 2 to 3 chapters. However, that process will have to suffer a brief pause.

For about three weeks I will have to prepare for exams. This does not mean the story has been halted. Merely that, for the time being, I will be unable to write.

I hope you will enjoy the chapters already written as much as I enjoyed producing them.

- Thefemaletraid.


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